Art You Creatively Blocked? - The Artist's Way

Question – The author gives some clues to knowing if you are creatively blocked. Are you? How might you use these with a client

Julia Cameron writes "Many of us wish we were more creative. Many of us sense we are more creative, but unable to effectively tap that creativity. Our dreams elude us. Our lives feel somehow flat. Often, we have great ideas, wonderful dreams, but are unable to actualize them for ourselves. Sometimes we have specific creative longings we would love to be able to fulfill—learning to play the piano, painting, taking an acting class, or writing. Sometimes our goal is more diffuse. We hunger for what might be called creative living—an expanded expanded sense of creativity in our business lives, in sharing with our children, our spouse, our friends. . . . Many of us find that we have squandered our own creative energies by investing disproportionately in the lives, hopes, dreams, and plans of others. Their lives have obscured and detoured our own. As we consolidate a core through our withdrawal process, we becomem ore able to articulate our own boundaries, dreams, and authentic goals. Our personal flexibility increases while our malleability to the whims of others decreases. We experience a heightened sense of autonomy and possibility.. . How do you know if you are creatively blocked? Jealousy is an excellent clue. Are there artists whom you resent? Do you tell yourself, “I could do that, if only...” Do you tell yourself that if only you took your creative potential seriously, you might: 

• Stop telling yourself, “It’s too late.” 
• Stop waiting until you make enough money to do something you’d really love.
• Stop telling yourself, “It’s just my ego” whenever you yearn for a more creative life. 
• Stop telling yourself that dreams don’t matter, that they are only dreams and that you should be more sensible. 
• Stop fearing that your family and friends would think you crazy.
Stop telling yourself that creativity is a luxury and that you should be grateful for what you’ve got.


I find myself to be a very creative power.  My career is creative, my hobbies are creative and my world view is creative. I really feel that I am connected to a waterfall of creativity.

When I worked with clients using yoga, meditation and breathwork I try to see what really turns them on - where is their joy and bliss and that becomes what creativity means to me.  You don't need to have a paint brush to be creative, you can be a singer, a gardner, a comedian, a cook, a scrap booker any of these things.  You can live your life as creativity.  Just be open to trying.

I think it is important we take responsibility for our own creative and not let other people control it.  I see this a lot with actors.  Make your own pieces! Find other ways to get that creative feeling.  Don't stop being creative just because you aren't cast.

Chakra Series - Yoga Nidra for Self-Esteem - Solar Plexus Chakra - Manipura

INTERNALIZATION

Prepare for the practice of yoga nidra by lying on your back in Savasana.  If Savasana is not appropriate . . .

Close your eyes and take a deep breath in and on the exhale think mentally CONFIDENCE

Place your hands on your solar plexus and feel the warmth radiating from your center.

Say to yourself mentally “I am practicing Yoga Nidra”

Say to yourself mentally “I will stay awake for Yoga Nidra

From below, sense the stillness of the earth at the base of your spine, and the movement and fluidity of the water in your abdomen. The earth and water energy coalesce, rising up, turning into a warming fire in your solar plexus.

Your solar plexus is glowing and expanding with its vibrant, yellow light.

This fire keeps you warm, helps you burn food, and gives you energy.

Visualize a mid day sun.  Imagine its rays shining on you giving you visions, ideas, and confidence

The 3rd Chakra is your center, the seat of your personal power.

It is here that you become your own person – an individual ready to leave your own unique impression on the world.

It is here where you integrate your feelings, ideas, thoughts and intelligence, where you exercise your willpower and take actions, where you turn challenges into opportunities, and turn your visions and dreams into reality.

In the past, you may have turned your power over to someone else so you could be accepted and loved.

Or perhaps you sought out power over others in order to feel respected and admired.

Right now you are in touch with your true power.

Honor and respect yourself and your power

Take complete responsibility for your words and actions.

No longer need approval from others.

No longer need to have power over others.

Know that true power doesn’t  shout or cry.

True power is quiet, firm, steady, and effortless.

Know who you are, why you are here, and what you are here to do.

Being yourself is a powerful act

Do what feels necessary

Do what feels right.

Stand up for yourself.

Act with confidence and inner conviction.

Create things that are beautiful and meaningful

Make the world a better place

Summon you inner fire that dwells in the abdomen.

Use your personal power to give you courage, discipline, strength, patience and perseverance to walk confidently in the direction of your dreams

Perhaps taking baby steps, one at a time, to fulfill your purpose in life.  Perhaps walking at whatever speed feels appropriate

Feel the warm fire radiating from your solar plexus, penetrating into every cell of your being.

Watch the fire burning away any doubt, shame, guilt, insecurities and jealousies that were lodged there.

Watch the fire leaving behind strength, confidence and belief in yourself.

Slowly, the fire is winding down. But its warmth stays at your center.

Feel it every time you put your hands on your solar plexus.

Ignite it anytime you need to

Come back to the breath

Notice the rise and fall of the breath at the abdomen

Listen in all directions for sounds

Listen for sounds  (continue as normal . . .)


SANKALPA
(Do normal introduction to Sankalpa)

I am confident and courageous

BODY ROTATION
(Do normal body rotation but with Yellow Healing Sun Light touching each part of the body)

BREATH AWARENESS
(use normal dialogue)
Breath at the Abdomen/Solar Plexus
Counting from 18 to 0

MANTRA WORK
Work with the mantra RAM

OPPOSITES
Remember a time in you life when you felt CONFIDENT

Recollect an experience of confidence. It can be physical or mental confidence.  Everyone has had a moment where the feel confidence.  Remember the feeling of confidence. Feel the confidence. Make it as clear as possible.. Deep your awareness to the feeling of confidence,  Continue to concentrate on the feeling of confidence

Remember a time in your life that you felt INSECURE.  Try to experience the feeling of insecurity.

Concentrate and remember feeling insecure.  Recall that insecurity and try to develop it . . .

Go back to Confidence

Go back to Insecurity

Now feel both confident and insecure at the same time

Let go of confidence and let go of insecurity and come back to the breath

VISUALIZATION

Self-esteem is how people value themselves. Low self-esteem can hold people back from being the best they can be. In consistently reaffirming yourself to be worthy, capable, and competent over time, you gradually build positive self-esteem.

Bring your awareness to the chiddakasha, the mind space in front of the closed eyes.  Notice in colors, patterns or imagery there.

Now you are going to travel into your past.  Retraving the steps of your memory and consciousness backwards from this time.  The past is part of time and time is part of your mind.  By remembering your past you are going into the deeper recesses of your consciousness.

Think of a time you were really, really confident. Imagine every detail, as if you were looking through your own eyes. See, hear and feel those great feelings.

Think of a specific situation in relation to your confidence. For example, if you’d like more confidence in a social situation, imagine yourself there. See it as if it was a movie, seeing yourself laughing and talking easily and effortlessly with others.

Think of someone you know who is really confident. Vividly imagine how their posture looks, how they carry themselves, how they walk and talk, how loud they speak, how they sit, how they greet people. Imagine  yourself into consciously training your body to act in the same way.
Imagine yourself standing with confidence, walking with confidence, speaking confidently.

2nd Visualization

Visualize a bright yellow chakra spinning between the navel and the base of the sternum, like a radiant internal sun

Imagine this internal sun nourishing your digestive organs by soaking them with yellow, energizing light just like the external sun nourishes all life on earth.

Connect the two outside suns with your internal sun at the Solar Plexus.

Connect the two suns energies through the crown of your head

Visualize the energy transfer between the two making your chakra spin faster.

Meditate on this 'exchange of fire' and feel a sense of benevolent power and confidence

Let go of the visualization practice

Like go on the chiddakasha

And come back to the breath

Feel the warmth of the breath

SANKALPA

In the breath hear the Sankalpa

The same one you used in the beginning of practice

Or come back to the statement “I am confident and courageous”
. . .
EXTERNALIZATION

Come back to the solar plexus

Place the hands on the solar plexus on top of the navel

Feel the warmth radiating from your center.

From below, sense the stillness of the earth at the base of your spine, and the movement and fluidity of the water in your abdomen.

Feel the earth and water energy coalesce, rising up, turning into a warming fire in your solar plexus.

Listen for the sound Ram

Listen for the sound of the heart beat

Listen for the sound of the breath

Listen for sounds in the room , . . .

Listen for sounds outside of the room

Listen for the farthest sound that you can hear

Come back to the breath

Take deep belly breaths with awareness of the solar plexus

Inhaling deeply and exhaling fully

Say to yourself “the practice of yoga nidra is now complete”

(Close as normal)

NAMASTE

Kamala and Creativity

Creativity is one of the things that I am most interested in life.  How to stay creative, feed my own creativity and develop as a creative being, as well as, how to help others awaken their creativity, feel safe enough to create and be open to creative energy and ideas?  These are the things that most attract me to Kamala.  Getting in touch with the creative force that supports us humans in whatever we desire to do.  Exploring how do I give permission to myself and others to be creative? This is what I desire to be apart of and hope to create in my yoga studio, a center for creativity, where the mind, body, and spirit are celebrated.

 I started an online program to be a Creativity Coach in the hopes and answering some of these questions. I see many people filled with talent and desire not creating anymore. They are afraid to create, too tired to create, blocked or disenchanted with all the rejection involved with being an artist.

I taught The Artist Way this winter.  I taught a couple Art/Yoga Fusion Workshops in the fall: Heart Mandala for Self Esteem, Gratitude Yantra for Thanskgiving and Dream Exploration hoping to awaken and support people (and myself) in their creativity by fusing art, yoga and meditation.  My idea was to relax and open people with Yoga and Meditation so they could really make art from a different level of consciousness.

Laskshmi has never been a goddess who has interested me much.

 I think of her mainly in her form as the "good wife" or people asking her for money.  I like the idea in the lecture of seeking her for wealth of spiritual knowledge as opposed to material wealth and that true wealth is generosity.

I am very interested in the Kamala - Kali cycle of the Full Moon and Dark moon, pleasure - non-attachment cycle.  I would like to read more about this, somehow balancing life between Kamala and Kali.

I love that the lotus is the journey of the aspirant and it reminds us to trust in our path.  I embrace the idea of pleasure in the body and the senses.  I wrote before how I reject this idea of the body is impure and something to be reviled or ignored.  I want to delight my sense and feel joy in being alive.  I don't relate to the path of austerities even though disciple in something that is very important to me.

Finally, in the graphic novel I have been working on for so many years (without much to show for it) one my characters is named Kamala.

She is the obsession of the hero.  She is a prostitute who he falls in love with, is separated from, pines for for many years and finally is reunited with to only discover she is lesbian and never loved him.  I didn't  know anything about Mahavidya Kamala when I wrote the story.  I just knew in a dictionary of names Kamala meant desire. I think after this  lecture I want to make sure she is fully developed to honor her name and not just a foil for the hero without her own unique story.